The New York Yankees chose not to extend the qualifying offer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. ahead of the November 2 deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent. The QO this cycle was worth $23.15 million for one year — and the Yankees decided it wasn’t a bet worth making. Not because they don’t like Chisholm, but because they were afraid he’d accept it, and a .711 OPS in 2026 doesn’t justify that check.
The Grisham Scar
This isn’t the first time this front office has been burned. Last offseason, the Yankees extended the qualifying offer to Trent Grisham, who accepted it, collected $22.025 million, and delivered a season nobody in the Bronx wants to revisit. That memory is still fresh. With Chisholm, management saw the same trap: a player more likely to accept than reject, and a 2026 performance that doesn’t guarantee that kind of return.
The Yankees did extend the QO to closer David Bednar — also at $23.15M — who has until November 17 to decide whether to accept or enter the market himself. That contrast says everything: Bednar’s profile justifies the risk. Chisholm’s bat in 2026 didn’t.
A Season of Two Halves: The Bat Slipped, the Glove Didn’t
In 2025, Chisholm was one of the most exciting players in the American League: .242/.332/.481, .813 OPS, 31 home runs, 31 stolen bases, a Silver Slugger, and his second All-Star selection. In 2026, the bat took a hard step back.
Over 137 games, he hit .231/.312/.399 with a .711 OPS — more than 100 points lower than the year before — and posted a 29.5% strikeout rate that ranks in the 9th percentile across all of MLB. His xwOBA of .294 per Statcast suggests he wasn’t particularly unlucky on contact. The contact itself was just worse.
But the number the «bad season» narrative tends to erase is his defense. Chisholm finished 2026 with 15 outs above average, landing in the 98th percentile in that metric. He also accumulated 3.5 fWAR, making him the second-most valuable second baseman in the AL by that measure. And he wasn’t slow: 41 stolen bases, a career high, with a sprint speed in the 75th percentile.
The problem was the bat — not the complete player.
The Postseason Friction
The optics around the ALDS didn’t help either. Chisholm was left out of the lineup for two games against the Rays — including Game 3, which eliminated New York — and publicly expressed frustration at not being told in advance. That friction with management hung in the air, even if it wasn’t the technical reason behind the QO decision.
No Draft Compensation: Who’s Interested?
Not receiving the QO is actually a market advantage for Chisholm. Any team that signs him won’t lose a draft pick, which opens the door to more potential suitors. CBS Sports ranks him sixth among the best free agents in the 2026–27 class. The Angels, Padres, and Tigers are the most frequently mentioned destinations so far.
Chisholm is also one of only a handful of players among the top free agents in this class — alongside Brandon Lowe, Seiya Suzuki, and Randy Arozarena — who has posted 3.0 or more fWAR in each of the last three seasons. A .711 OPS doesn’t erase that.
The question for whoever signs him is simple: how much of 2025 can his bat recover, and is the price of that risk worth it?
As for the Yankees, they haven’t fully closed the door. Not extending the QO isn’t the same as saying goodbye forever. In free agency they can sit down with Chisholm on equal footing, without the risk of being locked into a one-year deal he might accept without thinking twice. If the market drives his price down, New York could come back to the table.
The Numbers Behind the Headline
Here’s what Statcast logged for Chisholm in 2026:
- Plate appearances: 532
- Home runs / RBI: 19 HR, 55 RBI
- AVG / OPS: .231 / .711
- xwOBA: .294
- Average exit velocity: 90.4 mph
- Barrel rate: 8.2%
- Hard-hit rate: 42.8%
- Average bat speed: 72.9 mph
- Whiff percentile: 13th (among the lowest contact rates in MLB)
- Sprint speed percentile: 75th
- Outs above average: 15 (98th percentile)
- fWAR: 3.5 (2nd among AL second basemen)
- Stolen bases: 41 (career high)
